Tito Jackson

Biography

Born the third eldest and second eldest brother, many have credited him for the start of the Jackson musical dynasty after his father caught him playing his guitar as a child. A gifted child at a young age, Tito heralded his talent from his father, Joseph, who was the leader of a blues band, called the Falcons. Tito and his brothers Jackie and Jermaine played with Joseph's guitar with Katherine's blessing until Joseph returned home from work. The boys were careful until one time when Tito got used to the guitar that he broke a string. When Joseph went to investigate and found out that his eight-year-old son had been playing with it, he threatened to "whup" him, then changed his mind and got Tito to play for him. Joseph was impressed by Tito's talents and equally impressed with Jackie and Jermaine's vocal talents. It was at this point that Joseph began to envision a singing group for his sons. By 1967, the lineup had included younger brothers Marlon and Michael and they were now known as The Jackson Five. By the time Tito was fifteen, he had moved up from rhythm guitar to lead guitar while Jermaine played bass and sung co-lead with Michael. Tito and his brothers found success after signing with Motown in 1969 and went on to score huge hits from that time on.

Around the same time, Tito had fallen for his high school sweetheart named Delores "Dee-Dee" Martes and the two married in 1972. The couple went on to have three sons: Taj (1973), Taryll (1975) and TJ (1978). Tito was often known as "the quiet member" of the Jackson family and also "the most serious" of the group.

Tito remained with the group when they signed with Epic in 1976 and left the Jackson 5 moniker to be simply known as The Jacksons. By the end of their careers together in 1990, Tito settled into his private life but not without divorcing Dee Dee that year after eighteen years of marriage. In 1997, Tito and his brothers were inducted to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Around the same time, Tito was managing his three sons' own music career as they had formed as 3T.

If Tito was the first to make a move in building the Jackson family empire, he was the last of the Jacksons to go solo.

In 2003, Tito started working on his own solo music and reinvented himself as a blues musician and he started performing on stage with his band The Funk Brothers.

In 2012, Tito and his brothers Jackie, Jermaine and Marlon reunited to get back on the road with the Unity Tour and they have been performing all over the globe since.

For over 50 years, the Jacksons, the First Family of Pop Music, has been charting hits and in 2016 Tito joined his brothers and sisters and scored his first solo hit on the Billboard charts with the single “Get It Baby” from the album TITO TIME that was released in Japan late 2016, becoming the ninth and final Jackson family sibling to place a solo single on the charts.

When The Magic Happens (2017)

Tito Time (2016)

1. Get It Baby featuring Big Daddy Kane2. When The Magic Happens duet with Jocelyn Brown3. Put It On Me4. We Made It5. One Way Street6. So Far So Good featuring 3T7. On My Way Home8. Jammer Street featuring 3T9. She Gotta Go10. Not Afraid featuring Roo11. Cruisin’ featuring Betty Wright12. T.I.T.O. Love 13. I Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere featuring 3T14. Home Is Where the Heart IsBonus tracks for Japanese editionGet It Baby (Nona Reeves Remix) We Made It (Remix) featuring Gota NishideraBonus tracks for Tito Time Collection editionGet It Baby (Radio Mix)

Get It Baby (2016)

Get It Babyfeaturing Big Daddy KanePlay It Right Music, 2016

Contributions

Tito contributed to the following tracks:

This Is It | Michael Jackson, This Is It (2009) vocals

Freedom (album) | Tramaine (1987) writing, mixing, vocals

We Are The World | USA for Africa (1985) vocals

Escape From The Planet of the Ant Men | Jermaine Jackson, Dynamite (1984) vocals